Posts Tagged ‘Eytelwein’

Last time we introduced two historical legends in the field of engineering who pioneered the science of mechanical power transmission using belts and pulleys, Leonhard Euler and Johann Albert Eytelwein. Today we’ll build a foundation for understanding their famous Euler-Eytelwein Formulathrough our example of a simple mechanical power transmission system consisting of two pulleys and a belt, and in so doing demonstrate the difference between driven and driving pulleys.

Our example of a basic mechanical power transmission system consists of two pulleys connected by a drive belt. The driving pulley is attached to a source of mechanical power, for example, the shaft of an electric motor. The driven pulley, which is attached to the shaft of a piece of rotating machinery, receives the mechanical power from the electric motor so the machinery can perform its function.

The Difference Between Driven and Driving Pulleys

Next time we’ll see how driven pulleys can be made to spin at different speeds from the driving pulley, enabling different modes of operation in mechanical devices.